Rebirth (RAW Family 3)

What he said did not appease me. It wasn’t a promise. It was hardly a vow. “I swear to you I will never leave you.” He pressed his lips to my temple. “Not willingly.”

And I knew why he couldn’t give me more than that.

It was because he was Antonio “Twitch” Falco, a man who was once a king in this city. And now that word was spreading about his return, there would be some who would go so far to make sure he never stepped up to challenge the throne ever again.

It was because bullets spoke louder than words.

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Lexi

A.J. was readying himself for school when Twitch walked into the house like he owned the place. From his room, A.J. called out, “Daddy?”

His tired eyes smiled as he walked over to the coffee pot, pouring two mugs. “I’m here, bud.”

This was part of our routine lately. Twitch would drop A.J. off at school and pick him up, and he did this most days, without Molly. Molly, of course, had quite a bit to say about that to the man himself. She accused him of vying for her job, and I couldn’t help but laugh at her scathing accusation. She really was adorable. As if I’d ever turn her loose. She was more than just an employee. Molly was family.

It was so hard to give Twitch even a pinch of my trust, but I knew if we were going to make this work, eventually Twitch would have to be trusted with his son alone. And if I were being honest, after seeing how he interacted with our little monster, I didn’t think he would ever do anything to hurt him. When it came to our son, Twitch always seemed to put him first, which was a relief.

As the man in question passed me in the kitchen, he pressed his long, hard body into the back of mine and lowered his head to kiss my cheek. “Mornin’, angel.” He placed the second mug of coffee onto the counter in front of me like an offering to the shrine of a goddess.

My heart was aflutter.

Jerk.

I was also not in the mood. My lips thinned as I turned on him, and when I saw how the move had positioned us, I immediately regretted it. We were close. A little too close. Twitch held onto the counter, blocking me in, and when my eyes darted around in panic, his eyes crinkled in the corners, knowing I was caged.

My voice was quiet but irritated, and my eyes narrowed on him. “Why are you being so nice to me? You were never this nice to me. I would beg for you to be nice to me and you still wouldn’t.” I peeked out at the side of his large frame to make sure no one was coming. “So what gives?”

Was I spoiling for a fight? Yeah.

Was Twitch going to give that to me? No.

Slipping one arm around my back, he gently tugged on my braid, forcing my head up, and when he spoke, my reserve shattered. “Spent six years without you. Six years thinking about everything I should have done when I had the chance. Six years of guilt. Six years of regret. I left one way and came back another. I’m a changed man.”

When my brow furrowed, I whispered, “But you still like what you like.”

Clearly, his bedroom tastes hadn’t changed.

I stated this meaningfully and his eyes laughed. “I said I’ve changed, baby, not that I’m a fuckin’ saint.”

When my lips parted and I glanced up at his beautifully full mouth, he took a miniscule step closer, putting our bodies impossibly close, and spoke quietly, “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you avoiding my mouth.”

Ah, crap. I thought I was being so discreet. I faltered on my response. “The other night, you—” I swallowed hard. “—you could have demanded a kiss, and I....” I would have. I would have given him anything.

But Twitch shook his head slowly, meaningfully. “Was never into forcing women. It doesn’t get me off. And forcing you?” His jaw tightened. “I’d rather off myself.” He lifted both hands to frame my face adoringly. “I only ever want you willing. I want you to want me so much it fucking hurts.” It already does. “I want you to think about me all the time.” I rarely think of anything but you. “I want to star in your dreams.” Every night, baby. He ran his thumb over my soft lips. “I want you to give me that mouth more than anything, because—fuck me—I haven’t thought about much else other than those smiling angel lips on mine.” He released me, stepping back. “But I want you to want it too.”

I did.

I do! Come back!

Molly walked into the kitchen, pausing when she saw how close we stood staring into each other’s eyes. Her brows arched and she threw a thumb back over her shoulder. “If you need a minute, I can come back.”

“Nah, were good,” uttered Twitch before rounding on the little woman, looking down at her with a knowing look. “I heard some little shit was bothering my boy.” His eyes narrowed on her. “A.J. tells me you brought some of your friends to pick him up one day. Big friends. Tats of their faces kind of friends.” He straightened to full height, folding his arms across his chest, looking more vengeful god than man. “I know you didn’t take members of D.M.S. to my son’s school to beat up on a little girl.”

Molly paled, which was strange, because she was rather dark-skinned. “I didn’t ask them there to beat her up. Shit, she’s five. I just wanted them to scare her a little, not lay into her. They just stood there, I swear.” Her face turned solemn quickly enough. “Besides—” Her lip curled. “—she deserved it.”

But Twitch’s eyes continued to watch her a long moment before his lips lifted in the corners. “Stone-cold bitch.” He laid a crooked smile on her and I was jealous of it. He pointed at her, waving that finger in her direction. “I knew I liked you, Molly.”

As Molly relaxed, I rolled my eyes. “Don’t encourage her. It was an irresponsible move.”

But Twitch moved to stand next to her—in a show of support, I suppose. “No. It was a bold move, and if she cares that much about our son, I can’t fault her. I’d do the same.”

And for the first time since his arrival, Molly blinked up at him in awe.

Shit.

He had won her over.

Great. Just great.

It was getting a little lonely out on my ledge while Twitch continued to invite people inside. I was starting to get the feeling that almost everyone was okay with him being back. I needed to talk to people of a like mind, and luckily, I was meeting them for dinner.

“Hey.” I smiled, walking into the Indian restaurant.

Nikki smiled sadly as she hugged me tightly. “Hey, girl. How are you?”

Dave stood and embraced me, pressing a soft kiss to my head. “We’ve been worried about you but didn’t want to push.” He looked down at me sympathetically. “I know it’s been a struggle.”

A struggle. What an understatement.

With a heavy sigh, I took a seat at the table and waved him off. “Don’t even worry about it. It’s been...” I searched for the word. “...chaotic.” Yes. That would do. But before we began, I took a glass of water from the table and sipped at it. “How are things with you guys?” They looked at each other a moment before dropping their matching gazes of sadness. My gut sank. “How’s Happy?”

Nikki forced a smile. “Things are okay. He’s good.”

“Things are not okay.” Dave couldn’t even look at me. “He moved out.”

“What?” I leaned in, shocked. My mouth gaped. “What happened?”

Nikki shrugged but kept her too wide smile pasted on her face. “I don’t know really.”

Dave sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I asked him to move out.” When he looked at me, his eyes were sad. “I’m not coping well.”

Nikki’s smile fell. She looked devastated as she put her hand to Dave’s arm i

n support. “It’s been hard on all of us.”

He looked at her dotingly and placed his hand on hers, as he whispered, “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head and a sad smile graced her lips. She spoke just as quietly, “It’s okay.”

My heart was breaking for them. I know what Happy had done was wrong. He’d lied to us, and he’d done it for five years. But they didn’t know the precarious situation Twitch had put him in. They didn’t know the unwritten rules of the underworld. They didn’t understand how important it was for Happy to keep the ruse going. And they likely never would.

They would never understand that the three unlikely brothers would never truly be out of the underground’s fold. It was something you either accepted, or you didn’t. I felt the need to expand on that out loud.

Letting out a dejected sigh, I uttered, “This world they live in, the roots run deep.” When they both looked at me, I picked up my straw and stirred the icy water, speaking on. “It runs deep in their veins. It’s more a part of them than this life, than normal life,” I clarified. “Normal to Twitch, Julius, and Happy is just another setting on the washer.” I laughed humorlessly. My lips turned down into a frown. “It doesn’t exist for them.” I peered up at my best friends, hoping they would fathom what I was saying here. “They’re trying to have a taste of that life, but it’s not going to be easy. They’ll forever have targets on their heads. They’ll occasionally lie for what they deem the greater good. They come with a warning label attached to them. They all do, and if you can’t handle that, you need to break it off.”

Dave thought about my words. His expression went from mildly dumbfounded to spooked then finally settled on annoyed. “Because that’s not scary at all.” He picked up his beer and took a pull from it before signaling for another. “Thank you, Lexi.” He shook his head, his lips thin. “Thanks a lot.”

The glass of wine I ordered came, as Nikki asked an incredulous, “And you’re okay with being lied to?”

I held up my wine glass in salute. “Don’t ask, don’t tell.” I chugged that mothertrucker down, showing just how not okay I was with that.